Enemy Fire

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Who ever had come up with the idea of joined training session clearly hadn't expected that they had to put a group of mostly angsty teenagers whose powers ran on their emotional status into the same room. Somehow, things had gotten heated between two of the students, and before anyone had been able to really do anything, the room had turned into some kind of battle field between a pyrokinetic and a shapeshifter.

Needless to say, it hadn't exactly been pretty.

And when most of them had finally managed to get out the door without too much harm, the room looked... Well, awful. Smoke came out of the open door and it seriously looked like someone had tossed a match and a can of fuel in there and... Boom.

The air also held a sharp smell of burn fur and rubber. Holding one hand on the collar of her shirt, Erika had lifted it up to cover her mouth as she moved further away from the room. She could hear the trainer yell at the two students who had been fighting inside the room, but she had very little interest in staying behind to see how it all ended. 

Instead, the brunette moved over to one of the drinking fountains and turned on the tap. Placing her hands under it, Erika attempted to rub off some of the ash that had gotten stuck on her skin as she sighed. She had to remind herself not to sign up for any more of those group training sessions, because honestly...

[Terrance Layton]

Honestly! What was wrong with these kids?

Terry walked down the hallway and stared at the door leading through the training rooms. He did not want to go there. He so didn't want to open those doors and find whatever it was happening inside. Ugh, these kids. At least from the screaming he could tell there was some sort of supervision going on. Good, so he could skip dealing with snotty teens. He sighed, focused not to go inside. Nope. Not going to. Responsibilities? What responsibilities? It sounded- it was fine! Probably. If someone had died or something, he would've heard of it already.

He grunted, scratching his beard as he leaned against the wall tiredly, still staring at the door as another scream came. Probably some overreacting little girl all mad that her hair got messed up. Yeah, something like that. And that sudden light? Just some... human lamp kid turning on. And that loud noise? Just... a chair. A chair falling down. Ugh. Stupid job. He loved it here! Honest! He just would've loved it more if there weren't any kids around. Which, admittedly, would end up making his job rather pointless.

A girl came out from the entrance and he pushed against the wall to keep the 'good teacher' appearance. She was covered in ashes. Of course she was. He almost groaned as he realised he probably would have to join in and help whatever it was happening. He stared at the girl for a moment. Although...

"Hey!" He called, walking up at her, "So uh- hi, whatever." He was so bad at small talk. "What's going on in there?" He asked first and then rose a hand, waving it dismissively, "No, don't answer that. Better yet: Is it... another trainer worthy?" Oh yes, showing his colours right away. "And if so, is it something someone with a useless power could control?" No need to join in if he could do nothing about it after all.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika's head snapped to the side at the sound of a voice, which apparently was directed towards her. Her brown eyes focused in upon an older male, probably a member of the staff, although the telekinetic couldn't quite remember his face. Ah well, she supposed that it didn't really matter at the end of day. Sighing, Erika shook the water off of her hands before fully turning to look at the man. Quirking her brow, she opened her mouth to answer, but quickly shut it again as the man's hand came up to stop her. The quirked brow was quickly replaced by a pair of furrowed brows and an expression that basically read "are you kidding?".

"Uhm," she began, turning her head to glance in the direction of the room she'd just walked out from. "To be perfectly honest, considering how the trainer couldn't control the situation from the start, I wouldn't be too surprised if they're still going at it," she drawled as she shrugged her shoulders. "But if I were you, I'd stay far away." Erika looked over at the man again, offering him something of a smile. Well, at least he was trying, although extremely awkwardly so. "If your power is really that useless, I doubt you'll be able to do much, unless of course, you want to yell at a pair of pissed off students."

Turning off the tap, Erika's arms slid along her sides as she attempted to wipe off most of the water. She could still smell the burned fur scent hanging around in the air around them, and it caused her to grimace. Oh how she wished she hadn't agreed to this stupid group training session. "Someone thought putting a group of students with different powers into the same room was a great idea and then expect them to behave," she added with a roll to her eyes.

[Terrance Layton]

Still going at it. "Oh shit." He said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He really didn't want to go there. "This is why I find this whole thing so stupid. But do others listen? No. Just a bunch of angry kids working out their insecurities by hurting others with-" He stopped his rant as he realised he was talking to one of those 'angry kids', though this girl didn't look that kiddie in the first place. He coughed into his fist and nodded. "Sorry, just- uh, habit." The habit to complain apparently.

He sent her a half smile and sighed. "They're not exactly useless, but for-" He looked down at a particularly ash covered spot on her arm, "Pyro kids, I'm sure dream walking won't do much to keep them from hurting each other. Or worse, from hurting me." Priorities! Not that he didn't worry about those kids but, really, what good would he be if he was killed by a bunch of kids throwing fire at each other while hormonal?

Terry rolled his eyes along and shook his head. He knew of ONE trainer full of silly ideas like those and wondered if it'd been her who set this party started. God, he hoped not, though he wouldn't put it past her. "I'm not surprised." He said, sending a glare at the door as a sudden burst of flames seemed to come through the small slit on the floor. "Not ONE bit surprised." He turned to the girl then, staring at her curiously.

"What about you?" He wondered, "Why did you give up? Not that much anger to work out?" The last bit was said sarcastically, since he knew kids in Bellefonte could be a tad emotional. Kids everywhere, really. It was a tough age, he could admit, but that still didn't make him like them.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Quirking her brow as the man set off on a rant, it struck Erika just how incredibly unprofessional it was of him. It was a good thing Erika wasn't one of the headmistresses anymore, otherwise she would have been forced to do something about it. "I don't you should be talking about the students that way," she began, pursing her lips. Okay, so maybe she'd meddle just a little. "It's both highly unprofessional and incredibly disrespectful." After all, these kids and students were all going through the motions of having heightened hormones and emotions along with having powers they barely could control. What had he expected would happen? "Mmhm," she replied absentmindedly.

The man continued then, which had Erika's head tilting slightly. For a moment, she considered pointing out that the security of the students were his first priority, but honestly, she didn't really see the point. Instead, Erika rolled her eyes. "There's more to keeping the students at bay than using your ability." But that was Erika's personal opinion. She was against being dependent of your power. Especially when you were a teacher or in a position of authority. It was hardly a good sign if a teacher decided they couldn't step in, simply because their power was useless.

Of course, Erika fully agreed that the idea had been stupid to begin with, and it wasn't something anyone should ever come up with. In fact, all of this, had been nothing but proof that students were better off training one on one as opposed to in a large group. What she didn't agree with was the man's attitude. Ah well, thankfully, it wasn't Erika's problem anymore.

He turned to look at her then, and Erika's lips pursed slightly. "It's not a matter of giving up," she replied. "But the situation wouldn't have benefited me the slightest, and I see very little point in wasting my time, watching a pair of students fight it out when there's other things I could do instead." Clearly, this guy had some serious problems with teenagers. That, or he'd stood up on the wrong side of his bed this morning. Well, she supposed she couldn't really blame him for being frustrated, but these things weren't exactly something you shared with a random student. It was obvious he had no idea who she was, which Erika didn't mind at all. In fact, it was a breath of fresh air.

[Terrance Layton]

He rolled his eyes as she berated him about how he spoke of students. Oh, God, who cared? "What are you? My boss?" He asked sarcastically. Oh Terry... no no. But he still had no idea who this girl was. He actually thought she was a trainer of sorts. She didn't look kiddy enough to be a student. Then again, those girls in college did grow up rather fast. Filled out too. And now he worked his hardest not to let his eyes move from her face.

And this girl kept going. Terry let out a breath, rolling his eyes at her scolding. Oh come on. "I know that, but it'd be much easier to just zap them." Less tiring too. "I usually have no enough energy to yell at them, so-" He shrugged, "As long as they keep the rooms unharmed, they can work their tensions out on each other." He gave her a smirk, "The nurses need to do some work once in a while too." A bunch of hormonal teens throwing fire at each other. He was sure someone could profit out of recording that. Too bad they had to keep it on the low.

So she didn't give up. She thought it useless. He chuckled at her answer. Definitely a trainer then. "So you gave up." He came to the very wrong conclusion that she was no student. She didn't carry herself like a student. There was some sort of authority behind the confident way she spoke. Maybe a teacher? A very young teacher?

"You have been here for long?" He wondered. It was always good to make friend with staff, especially after half of them thought he'd been sexually harassing the Legrange woman in the professors lounge. Ugh, memories.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Quirking her brow, it was obvious that his response amused the brunette greatly. Of course, she didn't respond. Instead, she offered him an almost innocent like smile - though, it felt much more like a grinning shark than anything else. Thankfully, there were no mirrors around for her to actually see what it looked like. It was made blatantly clear that this guy had no idea who she was, and that just struck her as... She didn't know. In fact, she wasn't even sure it mattered.

"I'm sure the council would be glad to hear about your... Methods. Maybe they'd find it interesting." Shaking her head, Erika caught herself wondering who on earth would hire this guy. Then again, she wasn't one to talk, seeing as how there was a cat running around as a security staff... Yes, not one of her best moments. Despite the oddity, the cat did quite a fine job. Even if he often came across as being rather... Creepy. Kind of like this guy. Maybe she should have introduced them. They could whine about students together.

Shaking her head, a faint chuckle fell from the brunette's lips. "No," she replied and left it at that. She saw no reason to justify herself. After all, why would she? It wasn't as if it was overly productive of her to waste her time trying to train a power she wouldn't be able to train, because other students were too busy fighting. That was logical. At least to her.

Now, the guy presented her a question, which brought another amused smile to her lips. "All my life," she replied without missing a beat. Of course, she hadn't started actually attending the school until she'd been eleven, but given her last name and family, she'd spent her entire life around and on the school. That much was a given. "Yourself?"

[Terrance Layton]

Council? The council. THE council. Terry cleared his throat, scratching his beard. "Uh- no. That-uh, that's not necessary. I was merely-" He cleared his throat again, "Joking, yes. I was teasing." He stared at the girl for a moment. Who in staff would be so worried about the kids that they couldn't take a small joke about them hurting each other? Maybe not everybody shared his dark humour. Not that it wasn't ENTIRELY an option to let the kids fight each other until they worked out whatever bugged them. Aggression therapy and all that. At least the kids would have some fun then.

No, she insisted and he gave her a smile, nodding. "Okay, then. You didn't. Gotcha." He sent her a playful wink, as if knowing exactly what she meant. Maybe she didn't want anyone to find out she'd left a room full of angry teens with just one trainer. Because a session like that needed more than one. He inwardly groaned at the idea that the two of them would probably have to go inside and put a stop to the fight. It seemed like smoke was coming out from the window. He swore if those kids had started a fire, he was so going to... glare very sternly at them. Ugh, maybe his students were right and he wasn't made for this job. But for now, they had a conversation to carry on. A few minutes wouldn't hurt that idiotic trainer that thought having students train on each other in a free for all. It would be a lesson to be learned. Terry preferred a 'one on one' kind of thing. At least that was more fair.

She'd been there all her life. He chuckled. "I know what you mean." He said, being oh so wrong again. She gave the answer back and he nodded. "Feels the same way." He said, "All my life. I've been- I was brought here when I was a kid. Never truly left, if only to complete my studies." He looked around and sighed. "I have good memories in this place. Kind of why I never truly wanted to leave." A crash and laughter came from the door then and he sent it a glare. "It could do with less brats, but I can't take the good without the bad."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika's brow quirked as the guy attempted to save his ass. So he did care about his job. Surely, he hadn't made it seem as if he did. That much was sure. "Then maybe you ought to take your job a little more seriously?" she suggested. God, she sounded like her sister. Not that necessarily was a bad thing. She knew a few people who would have had blast watching her call a staffer out on his bullshit. Especially considering how she was a college student now, and not the one leading the school.

It was actually rather amusing, how it seemed as if the guy really, truly had no idea who she was. She wondered then, if he just thought she was just some stupid teenager lecturing him. That seemed awfully misplaced did it not?

"Most people are brought here as children," she pointed out, her eyes gleaming with a new found amusement. "Well, once you spend so many years here--" She stopped at the sounds coming from the door, her smile widening slightly. "--it becomes a second home. It's only natural." She shrugged at that. "You should probably, uhm..." She gestured towards the door she'd emerged from.

[Terrance Layton]

Terry sent her a glare. What was it to her? "I take my job as seriously as that merits." He replied back, already looking annoyed at her uppity behaviour. Who was her to tell him how to do his job anyway? But she'd mentioned the council. Was she... involved with that? "You have to admit." He said hurriedly, "Some of these kids need some... tough love." He almost winced as he said that last word, "I understand some need nurturing and all that, and there is people for that, but I'm more inclined to demand of them what they can give and treat them like adults." Maybe that was him just saying whatever to keep this woman from ruining his job, but he sort of meant it. He grew bored of kids when they acted, well, like kids. But when someone had real problems, he was there! ...Sorta. He tried, okay?

At least the talk about the school lift his spirits. He turned to her and smirked. "Yes, well... Not everyone has a good time here, I've heard." That made him sigh as he thought of the conversations he had with students. Most of them complained, and with good reason, about some previous events that had changed their lives for the worst. "But for me it's more like a first home." He'd been pretty much abandoned after his powers showed up so it wasn't that surprising. He didn't mind though. It'd been for the best.

"Yes." He said, rolling his eyes. "Shouldn't you too come?" He asked as he moved to enter the room, wincing as some screaming came from it. "Don't give up too soon, I'll be there to help." Terry sent her a daring smirk, wondering if she'd take the challenge. Ah, these trainers. At least he wasn't the only one who hated this part of the job.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Tough love is different from insulting them," she pointed out, her head shaking. Boy, was she glad this guy wasn't her trainer. She would seriously have gotten pissed off if a teacher ever treated her with that little respect, and no, that was not because of her last name. Even as a student, she felt like everyone deserved respect until they proved that they didn't - and even then it was important that the teachers kept a level head. "Calling them names and making fun of them on their behalf is hardly treating them like adults. That's you acting like a child," she added through pursed lips.

Though, she supposed all of that was easy to say considering how she wasn't the one who had to train all these kids. It was easy to judge when you only looked from the outside and in.

"Of course not," she countered. "People are being pulled away from their families and neither of them get any say in it." Erika didn't at all agree with the way the school went about certain things, but she did understand why they did it. They couldn't have mutants running around, outing them to the entire world, now could they? It was cruel and cold, yes, but also necessarily. "Though, some of them learn to settle down after a while," she added with something of a smile. "Sadly, not everyone do, and that's to be expected, I suppose."

At that, Erika's eyebrow quirked. What on earth was he on about now? "Me?" she asked, her index finger pointing at her face. "Why on earth would I do that?" She was a student. Not a trained professional capable of handling these kids. "Look, I get that you guys probably need the people, but I'm not trained to train other kids." She almost laughed at the thought.

[Terrance Layton]

Terry glared at her, frowning childishly. He didn't know what to say because she was right. "You really take this job far too seriously." He accused instead, hoping she would back off. He crossed his arms, obviously put off. Why was this woman scolding him anyway? Who was she to tell him how to do his job? "Like a fun child." He refuted with a cynical smile, leaning forward playfully. "I haven't heard any complains so far anyway." He had, plenty, but only because students got annoyed, nothing really too bad. "And a little comedy never hurt anyone. It would really do some good to you," He shrugged, "Learning to smile at misfortune and all." Misfortune of others, but still! Besides, she's already manage to spoil his good mood.

Pulled from their families? "That builds character." He replied. They settle down after a while. "Like they should." Some others don't though. "The weak ones." He smiled sardonically at her, obviously not minding anything she said. "And that's why I'm here for. To help them get over it." He lost his smile and stared at her. "I understand I'm not the cuddly type of counselor. Hell, I'm not the cuddly type of anything. But that doesn't mean I don't do my job right. Life gets hard for these kids and I understand that, but pretending it's fair or that things will get better for them would be lying. They have to realise life is tough and unfair and that they have to move on. If a few singers are what it takes for them to realise that suffering from it solves nothing, then that's exactly what I'll do." He shrugged, "I understand we have different... teaching methods." He was still thinking she was a teacher of some sort, "But that doesn't mean mine are wrong. It's just different." He shrugged, "So we can agree to disagree." Better than saying 'I'm tired of listening to you'.

Terry blinked at her in surprise. She wouldn't go in? Not trained? "Are you not a trainer too?" He wondered. He'd seen her come out of there! "A teacher then?" She talked so highly and mighty to be anything else. Unless- He sent a look at the door, ready to go in and help but stopped and turned to her again. "Who are you?" He had a bad feeling about this.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

The guy's responses brought nothing out of the girl but a bunch of eye rolls and sighs; why on earth someone would hire someone like this, she would never understand. It clearly hadn't happened on her watch, and she didn't see Elsa making such a dumb move either. No, he'd undoubtedly been around before their reign, or he was pretty fresh out of the woodwork. Nothing else made a whole lot of sense to her, because although Erika's hire policies were sketchy, she didn't hire manchildren to do the job of an adult.

"Right," she snorted, once again rolling her eyes. She didn't have much left to say to this guy. It was obvious they didn't at all see eye to eye, and she for one, would bring this directly to the council, because this guy clearly needed to be told to take his job more seriously and show people, especially the kids some proper respect. And he was a counselor too? Great, there went the safety of whatever poor kid was entrusted to his care.

"Teaching them differently is one thing, but again, insulting them behind their back is something else entirely. You still have to treat them with the proper respect that they deserve. They might be children, and they might need to see that life isn't all flowers and sunshine, but that doesn't change the fact that you're here to help them, and not to force them to become as cynical as you." Which was ironic, seeing as Erika had a tendency to be the cynical one.

Dramatic, she? Never.

His questions brought a smirk to the brunette's lips. "No," she replied the first time. "No," the second time, and then at the third question, Erika reached her hand out to shake his, her smirk growing slightly. "Erika Bellefonte. It's a pleasure to meet you...?"

[Terrance Layton]

"I don't insult them-" He tried to say but she kept talking. Wow, she could talk a lot. Talk crap if you asked him. Terry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her. One conversation and she immediately knew how he was at helping students? "I respect-" He cleared his throat. Still going. He nodded, forcing his eyes on her though his expression gave away how tired he was of this. What was it with people and immediately hating him? Did he have something written on his forehead that said 'Please, judge at first conversation'? He snorted then at the thought. He wouldn't put it pass it if some student had gone and written something like that on him. Ah, but she was still talking, though he'd been barely been listening by then. He nodded though, as if he knew. "Understood." He said when she finished her rant, though he had no idea what he was agreeing to.

And now he was leaving, not really because he wanted to help, but actually because he wanted to go away. But curiosity got better of him. Of course it did. It was his curse. Not a trainer. Not a teacher. Ah. Bellefonte. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. So this was one of the Bellefonte twins. He nodded, now understanding why she felt the need to berate him for his little joke. How stupid he'd been to just start a conversation like that with someone he didn't know, but at least he understood now why this woman hadn't carried herself as a student and with some authority. She WAS the authority. How grand to be able to be so important in such a school. Good to be the queen and all.

"I see." He said in a low voice, trying not to let panic hit him. Well, worst could happen was he would be fired and he'd end up not working with mutants. That couldn't be so bad, right? It wasn't like it was money that kept him in Bellefonte. "Pleasure." He added with a nod, and opened the door to enter the room and deal with students, already glaring around, not really wanting to deal with whatever mess he'd created for himself and better focusing his frustration on the kids. At least they deserved it for half burning some random table.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

She had to smirk at the reaction her last name got, and the simple fact that the guy didn't offer his own name in return. It seemed as if he hadn't at all known who she was, which was fine. Most of the time, Erika actually preferred that over people who did. Well, when said people were doing their jobs, anyways. She supposed it was easy to judge the guy by his remarks alone, instead of actually watching him work. Maybe he'd done nothing but rant and complain, and when it came down to it, maybe he was an exceptional teacher...

...well, she could surely hope, couldn't she?

Her smile widened slightly when he turned around and made his way towards the training room. It seemed as if he'd either gotten set straight, or whatever he'd find inside the room was a lot more pleasant to deal with than her. She didn't mind, honestly, and sincerely doubted that she'd have any reason to really meet the guy again.

She hoped anyways.

"Good luck," she chirped as she turned around to walk down the hallway. He surely needed it, that much was for certain. And yes, she totally couldn't help but being slightly amused by this whole situation - and still somewhat annoyed. It was a strange sensation.